1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to laminated image bearing composite panels, which are primarily used to offer an aesthetically pleasing appearance, and in particular to decorative image bearing panels to be used in door/window/opening screens.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous devices and procedures have been available for laminating decorative images between layers of panels, which form an object to either enhance the overall aesthetics of a particular environment or make use of in some form, shape, or fashion in our daily activities. Since the pleasant looks of such laminated decorative images tend to advance a special aesthetic decorative appeal to most users, the needs and attempts to make advancement in the art are persistently growing among the artisans and enthusiast who are keenly associated with the art. For the most part, thin transparent flexible materials, in the form of flat panels, have been in use in the process of lamination in embedding decorative images therebetween. In the early days, curtains, wall hangings, and articles of clothing were among the subjects for incorporating decorative images in enhancing their respective aesthetic appearances. In recent years, with the advent of more modern, flexible, durable, and transparent materials, the art of incorporating decorative images between transparent layers of such materials has helped create numerous everyday articles of manufactures that we use on a regular basis. The term transparent panel as used in the art includes a sheet of transparent material, a laminate of transparent materials or as an assembly of transparent materials, such as glass or plastics, for example, acrylic sheets or polycarbonate sheets and including flexible materials such as a polyester film or polyvinyl chloride film. Similarly, the term translucent panel includes sheets of translucent materials, a laminate of translucent materials such as glass or plastics, for example acrylic sheets, including flexible materials such as polyester film, paper, fabric or other material.
Although, the primary purpose of placing images between layers of transparent flat sheet material was to advance an aesthetic appearance of an article of practical use or artistic expression, the secondary purposes have also evolved with the availability of a great variety of such laminated images. One of such secondary purposes is to protect much-cherished valuable pieces of images from physical damage from the adverse effect of climatic changes. One area of the application of such lamination of images is flexible display images. One of the currently used and accessible method of producing display images is known as the Cromalin (registered trademark) color display system offered by DuPont Company. The Cromalin color display system produced full color displays on a number of possible flat laminated surfaces. Furthermore, it is well known to use plastic sheets to form shower cabinets, one or more of such sheets forming access doors, which are mounted for slidable movement along guide tracks between open and closed positions. According to one method of manufacturing laminated bath door panels there is provided a transparent or translucent panel for mounting along one or more edges of a bath or shower tray, in which the panel consists of a laminate of two layers of resin-impregnated fiberglass, which are transparent or translucent, and a non-woven decorative tissue arranged between the layers. By virtue of the incorporation of the decorative material within the whole of the panel structure during its manufacture, the decorative material is protected from contact with water and water vapor, whereby the visual presentation of the decorative material is maintained without adverse effects or deterioration over time due to the presence of the moisture in the environment.
The incorporation of an opaque pattern on or into particular types of transparent panels in order to create unidirectional vision is already known in the construction of transparent walled squash courts. Detailed delineation of typical approaches to incorporating decorative images into layers of flexible sheets or webs may be found in a number of U.S. patents. One of such teachings of image transfer method for display panel may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,177 to Ross. In the Ross patent, the method produces an image onto a surface of a one-way vision display panel of the type which is constructed as a perforated membrane having an opaque light reflective surface and a light-absorbing surface and whereby the image is clearly visible when viewing the display panel from one direction and wherein the perforated membrane permits substantially unobstructed through viewing when viewing the display panel from a second, opposite direction.
Another example of an image transfer method is detailed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,240,072 to Hodgdon et al. Here between a pair of transparent outer layers, a layer of adhesive is embedded, which is not as transparent as the outer layers. When the adhesive is still soft, images are physically impressed upon it to produce varying thicknesses. These varying thicknesses produce variable transparency such that the simple designs and letters become visible when the laminated article is held against a light.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,975,579 to Kernes provides an early description of a process that includes incorporation of pictures, designs, illustrations, and prints between multiple layers of tissue papers to form an overall composite material.
The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,446 to Looi et al. provides an illustration of a large body of art wherein transparent or translucent layers are constructed over inner layers, which bear various decorative images, generally for the purpose of providing physical or waterproofing protection to the image while providing a pleasingly aesthetically looking article formed from the composite, which is visible apparently regardless of the ambient lighting environment.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,409 to McLaughlin reveals an image bearing composite optical material. The image bearing composite is formed as a laminated flexible sheet having an image bearing photographic quality film layer variously bonded between outer and inner translucent layers of paper, fabric, or synthetic materials. The invention provides two sharply distinct appearances. One appearance is visible under a backlit illumination, and the other is visible under an ambient illumination condition.
We have seen in the aforementioned prior art many applications of incorporation of decorative images between layers of transparent or translucent material to enhance aesthetic appearance of an article of manufacture or to protect embedded decorative images itself from adverse effects of heat, moisture, and vapors of the environment. Though the search is not exhaustive, the application of the art of incorporating decorative images in an article of manufacture, such as door or window screen, without interfering with the functional use thereof has not been found in any reference. Further, the ability to easily change the desired aesthetic effects without significant cost effects is also not found in the prior art. The lack of flexibility of replacing the embedded images, to offer a new or variety look, necessarily forces a user to opt for multiple pieces of such article. It is true that, the frequent replacements of such embedded layers/images are not generally warranted to achieve structural stability of a particular laminated article of manufacture. Moreover, one of the purposes of embedding such images is to permanently protect such images from the adverse effects of the changes of the climate. Nonetheless, the option of replacing embedded images from between layers of see-through material affords a user the opportunity to offer a viewer a variety of aesthetic appearance that is commensurate with the specific mood of a particular occasion, season, or for that matter any event at a low cost. Stated differently, a variety of decorative images for a door/window screen offers a variety of aesthetically pleasing appearances to a variety of viewers. Also to the user, it brings a new look, and hence a new mood, at every time he/she changes the images of a door/window screen panel. This flexibility of replacing decorative images in a door/window screen panel offers, as many options of appearances as one can imagine since, the availability of the variety of images are countless. Most of the applications of incorporating decorative images between layers of a composite in the art have been directed to permanently embedding or sandwiching such images therebetween.
Consequently, what is needed is a method or process of transferring and embedding decorative images between layers of see-through material to form a laminated composite, which can be used, in addition to its intended purpose of allowing air to pass therethrough, to offer an aesthetically pleasing appearance, that is visible from both sides thereof. The method or process should also be capable of offering an option for replacing such decorative images at will, to create a variety of different and new aesthetically pleasing appearances depending upon the occasion, season, or for that matter any event.